What is "govhack"

GovHack is Australia's largest open government and open data hackathon, attracting in excess of 1000 participants each year. First run as a small Canberra-based event in 2009, it has quickly expanded to a national competition with simultaneous events taking place in major cities across the country in July each year. Available prizemoney has similarly increased, with a total prize pool of $70,000 available in 2014.

The event requires small teams of competitors to produce any kind of "hack" using Australian government data in around 46 hours, from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon. The format of a "hack" is unspecified, but the most common are web applications, mobile applications, or visualisations. Together with all source code deposited in an open source repository and open-licensed, each team is judged on a three-minute video they must produce, demonstrating what they have produced and its future potential.

Although competitors may use any available open government data, certain prize categories mandate the use of certain datasets, such as "Best Geoscience Award" or "Best Use of Taxation Statistics Award". Typically, participating government departments federal, state or municipal release special datasets just in time for the competition each year, with an associated prize.

The event is run by volunteers, particularly the Australian chapter of the Open Knowledge Foundation, and is led by Pia Waugh, head of the national team.